Probably one of the oldest forms of commercial gambling, horse racing has not lost its appeal after transferring onto the online gambling market. If anything, the sport gained new devotees as the racetrack adrenaline has proven to be just as intense online as it is in the offline world.

The skill and stamina of thoroughbred horses are commercialized through a series of wagers which the bettors pick according to their own knowledge of the sport, the bookies’ odds, the risk involved and other criteria. As you will be able to see, the bet types are (essentially) no different from any other sport-related betting option, which means that those with no experience in horse race betting will not take too long to pick up the basics. Newbookmakers.co.uk lists the best betting sites that are worth checking out.

Horse Racing Betting Types

Taking part in horse race betting does not require a player to be thoroughly educated on the subject, but understanding the odds is vital. You will have quite a few options to choose from, some of which are usually selected by the players who are quite passionate about the sport and know exactly when the risk is worth the investment.

Show – a low-risk bet where you are wagering that your horse will be one of the first three to finish the race;

Place – wagering that your horse will come 1st or 2nd; the payout rate is slightly better than with the Show bet;

Win – picking an outright winner is easier than it seems, thanks to the horse’s track record, winning history, odds given by the experts, etc. it is generally considered a medium risk bet unless you select the underdog;

Quinella – another medium risk bet (again, if you go for the favourites), where the bettor selects horses that will finish 1st and 2nd (regardless of the order);

Exacta – similar to Quinella, but the order in which the horses go through the finish line has to be correct;

Trifecta – a hard bet to get right as you will need to select three horses that will be the first to go through the finish line, in the correct order;

Superfecta – betting that 4 specific horses will be the first to finish the race in a particular order. Extremely difficult bet with a potentially high payout rate;

Daily Double – laying a wager that your horse will win two races in the race;

Pick 3 – a variation of the daily double plus an extra race;

Pick 4 – wagering that a horse will win 4 races in a row;

Pick 6 – wagering that a horse will win 6 straight races; each of these bets, starting from daily double to pick 6 is rather difficult, which is why the payouts can be generous;

Horse Racing Bookmakers

Pretty much every online bookie offers horse racing markets, with some of the most popular options listed below:

William Hill covers all horse racing events in the UK, Ireland and across the globe (Cheltenham, The Grand National, Ascot…). The new customer will be able to claim free bets on sign-up while the registered members can redeem one of many ongoing promotions, such as money-back free bet if the selected horse ranks well, additional cash prizes (on top of bet payouts) for selecting the winners, bet boosts…

888 Sports is one of the largest sports betting platforms that promises the best odds on the UK and Irish horse racing events. Their markets include Cheltenham Festival, Grand National, and Royal Ascot. The new depositors will be welcomed with £30 in free bets for the first minimum deposit and a new free bet will be awarded every day to all those who won on 4/1 odds with a £10 bet minimum.

Bet365 covers international horse racing events, featuring events held in Japan, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and North America. Registered members will be able to watch replays of all RTV or ART covered Irish and UK horse races, claim up to £25 free bet on the first deposit, adjust the number of places via Each Way Extra when submitting an Each Way bet, etc.